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Every Year in Chicagoland

Chicago's first snowfall: when it usually comes and the earliest on record

The first snow usually flies near Halloween, measurable snow comes around Nov. 18, and the earliest on record fell Oct. 12, 2006.

By HellginOctober 18, 20266 min read

Sooner or later you'll scrape frost off the windshield, look at the gray sky over the expressway and ask yourself whether it's going to snow already. In Chicago the first flakes usually show up around Halloween. Snow that actually sticks comes later. The first measurable snow usually arrives about Nov. 18, and the first inch about Dec. 7. Snow has come much earlier than that, though. The earliest measurable snow on record fell on Oct. 12, 2006.

The short answer

According to the National Weather Service, Chicago normally sees its first snow of any kind, a trace, around Oct. 31. That means the flakes on your Halloween costume are about on schedule.

A trace is snow that falls but doesn't add up to anything you can measure. Measurable snow is 0.1 inch or more on the ground. Chicago's first measurable snow usually arrives around Nov. 18, about a week before Thanksgiving, according to NBC Chicago and Fox 32. The first snowfall of an inch or more usually comes around Dec. 7. Time Out Chicago puts that one in "early December."

The earliest measurable snow on record fell on Oct. 12, 2006.

Chicago's official snow numbers come from the National Weather Service, which measures at O'Hare International Airport. Your yard in Naperville or Rogers Park may get more or less than the official total.

The earliest on record

Snow has shown up in Chicago before fall was even a week old. The earliest trace on record fell on Sept. 25, and it happened twice, in 1928 and again in 1942 (Fox 32, NBC Chicago). Those flakes didn't add up to anything. On a lot of years, the leaves are still green that late in September.

The earliest snow that did add up came on Oct. 12, 2006, when Chicago got its earliest measurable snowfall on record.

The earliest full inch came in 1989, on Oct. 19 (Fox 32). That was part of the biggest October snow Chicago has on record. During a mid-month cold snap, snow fell from Oct. 18 to Oct. 20, 1989, and totaled 6.3 inches (WGN). NBC Chicago says that total was measured at O'Hare, and it still makes October 1989 the snowiest October on record.

The second-snowiest October is much more recent. In October 2019, 4.6 inches fell, according to NBC Chicago. Much of that came around Halloween, which comes up again below.

The latest on record

Some years the snow seems like it will never come. The latest first trace on record fell on Dec. 5, 1999. Until then, not a single flake was recorded that season (Fox 32, NBC Chicago).

The latest first measurable snow was recent. It didn't come until Dec. 28, 2021, after Christmas had already gone by without snow. The latest first inch held off until Jan. 25, 2013 (Fox 32).

Put the records side by side and you can see how wide the spread is. Chicago's first trace has come anywhere from late September to early December. The first measurable snow has come anywhere from mid-October to late December. The first inch has come anywhere from mid-October to late January. The "normal" dates are only averages of all those years. Few winters land right on them.

The last ten winters

Here's when the first measurable snow fell at O'Hare in each of the last ten winters, and how much fell that day, as listed by NBC Chicago:

2014–15: Oct. 31, 0.1 inch
2015–16: Nov. 20, 4.2 inches
2016–17: Dec. 4, 6.4 inches
2017–18: Nov. 10, 0.1 inch
2018–19: Nov. 9, 1.0 inch
2019–20: Oct. 30, 1.2 inches
2020–21: Nov. 24, 1.4 inches
2021–22: Dec. 28, 1.5 inches
2022–23: Nov. 15, 1.0 inch
2023–24: Oct. 31, 0.9 inch

Recent winters have often started early. Five of the ten had their first measurable snow on or before Nov. 10, more than a week ahead of the Nov. 18 average. One went the other way. In 2021–22 the first measurable snow didn't come until Dec. 28, the latest on record. Some first snows were barely there, like the 0.1 inch in 2014 and 2017. Others came in big, like the 6.4 inches on Dec. 4, 2016.

Halloween shows up again and again on that list. Measurable snow on Halloween is rare, yet it happened three times in ten years. In 2014, trick-or-treaters got the season's first 0.1 inch. In 2019, snow fell over Halloween during what became the second-snowiest October on record. In 2023, 0.9 inch fell on Halloween. NBC Chicago reported that 2023 was only the third Halloween on record with measurable snow, after 2014 and 2019. It was also the second-snowiest Halloween on record, behind the record of 3.4 inches.

What to expect this year

As of Oct. 15, 2026, there's no word of Chicago's first snow of the season, not even a trace. The earliest dates on record show it could come any day now. The averages say it will probably come later.

It's too early to say whether this winter will start early like 2019 or late like 2021. The usual dates are still your best guide: a first trace around Halloween, the first measurable snow around Nov. 18 (about a week before Thanksgiving) and the first real inch around early December.

To see what's coming in the next week, watch the National Weather Service Chicago office. It covers the whole area and keeps the official O'Hare records. It's also probably a good time to find the ice scraper.

Sources (6)

Photo by t_s_l on Pixabay.